Animal-ambulance.



Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1;

ln ventor V I I Attorneys A MELZER ANIMAL AMBULANCE. APPLICATION FILED00124, 1910. 1,01 9,268, Patented M21125, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor Witnesses 111% jwz Attorneys ADOLPH MELZER, 0F EVANSVILLE,INDIANA.

ANIMAL-AMBULANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Application filed October 24, 1910. Serial No. 588,773.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AooLrr-r MELZER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Evansville, in the county of Vanderburg and State ofIndiana, have invented a new and useful Animal-Ambulance, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to ambulances for use in handling andtransporting horses and other large animals.

Devices of this character such as heretofore constructed have utilizedinclines leading to the bottom of the ambulance body and up which theanimals are to be drawn. Other types employ conveyors partly supportedby the vehicle andpartly by a. supplemental structure designed to be setup upon the ground. Both of these types have been found objectionable,the first,primarily, because of the injury liable to be inflicted uponthe animal while being hauled up the incline, and the great powernecessary to perform the operation, while the second type has been foundobjectionable because it has been necessary to set up a supplementalstructure, this not always being possible because of the position inwhich the animal is lying.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision ofmechanism carried solely by the vehicle at all times and whereby, duringone operation of the actuating element, the animal may be successivelyhoisted to a desired elevation and then conveyed to a position above thefloor of the vehicle.

A further object is to provide mechanism of this character which can bequickly adj usted to working position and which can be used efficientlyfor the purpose of placing the animal upon its feet should it be deemedunnecessary to transport it in the ambulance.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ambulance inuse, the positions of the parts during the initial portion of thehoisting operation being illustrated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is avertical transverse section through the front portion of the ambulancebody. Fig. 3 is a section on line A-B Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a sect-ionthrough the adjustable stop.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates theambulance body which may be of any desired proportions and is mounted onthe usual or any desired form of running gear such as indicated at 2.The rear end of the body is adapted to be closed by a hinged tail board3 having suitable means, such as hook and eye for securing it in closedposition.

The mechanism constituting the present invention is carried solely bythe ambulance body and includes a yoke 41 extending across the frontportion of the body and having an upstanding intermediate portion 5supporting a guide sheave 6. A winch 7 extends transversely of the frontportion of the body 1 and has a gear 8 designed to receive motion,through a gear 9 from a gear 10 secured to a transversely extendingshaft 11. A crank 12 may be attached to each end of the shaft, although,if preferred, only a single crank may be utilized. The gear 9 is adaptedto be engaged by a dog 13 having a stern 1 1 mounted for rotation withinthe sideof the body 1 and provided with an arm 15 whereby the dog can bereadily moved into or out of engagement with the gear 9. It will beapparent that by utilizing gears such as shown and described power willbe greatly multiplied in its transmission from the cranks 12 to thewinch.

A hoisting element is carried by the body 1 at a point preferably infront of the rear wheels of the running gear, this element, in thepresent instance, being made up of side beams 16 pivotally connected tothe sides of the body. 1 as at 17, and having their upper endsconverging upwardly and secured together, as shown at 18. A guide sheave19 is journaled between the upper end portions of the side beams, andone or more braces 20 may be interposed between these beams so as toproperly connect them.

A hoisting cable 21 is mounted on the v sheaves 6 and 19 and one endthereof is secured to the winch 7 while its other end carries a hook 22.A stop 28 is mounted on the cable at a point between the sheave 19 andthe hook 22. This stop may be of any construction desired. In Fig. 4 oneform has been illustrated. In this instance the stop consists of a blockhaving a curved passage 24: through which the cable extends, there beinga set screw 25 carried by the block and designed to bind it against thewall of the passage so as to hold the cable against sliding movementwithin the block. Spring catches 26, or the like, may be attached to thesides of the body 1, these being so located as to be engaged by thebeams 16, when they assume positions perpendicular to the bottom of thebody.

In using the apparatus any suitable form of harness may be employed. Inthe drawings a broad band 27 has been shown, this band being adapted tobe secured about the body of the animal and having a loop 28 forengagement with the hook 22. This band is first placed about the animaland with the loop 28 adjacent its back. Side beams 16 are released fromthe catches 26 and swung rearwardly and downwardly so that the sheave 19will be supported directly over the animal. Hook 22 is placed inengagement with the loop 28 and stop 23 is adjusted along the cableuntil the distance between the stop and the hoofs of the animal is lessthan the distance between the floor of the body 1 and the sheave 19. Aretaining cable 29 is attached to the beams 16 and to the yoke 4 andserves to limit the swinging movement of the beams when they arelowered. After the hook 22 has been attached to the harness, dog 13 iselevated and the winch is rotated so as to wind the cable 21 thereupon.The animal will thus be elevated and, should it be deemed unnecessary totransport it, it can be placed upon its feet and the harness thenremoved. In order to place the animal in the vehicle, the winding of thecable 21 is continued so as to bring the stop 23 against the upper endsof the side beams 16, whereupon said stop will cause the beams to swingupwardly to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. The animal willtherefore be elevated above the bottom of the body, and, as soon as theside beams become engaged by the catches 26 the cable may be unwound soas to lower the animal to the bottom of the vehicle body. The parts'arethus reset, and when it is desired to repeat the foregoing operation itbecomes merely necessary to release the side beams in the mannerhereinbefore described.

lVhat is claimed is An animal ambulance including a vehicle body, sidebeams pivotally connected to the sides of the body at the bottom thereofand at points between the front and rear supporting wheels of the body,the upper ends of said beams converging upwardly, a guide sheavejournaled between the upper end portions of said beams, a yoke fixedlyconnected to the front portion of the body, a. flexible connectionbetween the upper end portions of the beams and the yoke, a guide sheavecarried by the yoke, an animal engaging band, a flexible'hoistingelement detachably engaging the band and mounted on the sheaves, a stopdevice carried by said element and movable against one of the sheaves toelevate the beams when said element is moved in one direction, meanscarried by the front portion of the body for winding said element, andmeans for automatically engaging the beams to lock them when elevated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPH MELZER.

lVitnesses F B. OCHSENREITER, HERBERT D. LAWSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

